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Qantas Socceroos to play New Zealand

Australians will have the chance to show their support for the Qantas Socceroos before they leave for South Africa at a blockbuster farewell game at the MCG on May 24.

Australians will have the chance to show their support for the Qantas Socceroos before they leave for South Africa at a blockbuster farewell game at the MCG on May 24.

A massive crowd is expected to cheer on the full Qantas Socceroos squad that is expected to include their biggest names such as captain Lucas Neill, Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Mark Schwarzer as they take on New Zealand.

The game follows the farewell blockbuster tradition set when the Qantas Socceroos played Greece before the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the MCG.

“This is a great opportunity for Australian sports fans to fill the stadium with green and gold to send the team off to the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa in grand style,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.

“A wonderful tradition started in 2006 when a huge crowd saw a fantastic game of football and showed to the Qantas Socceroos that they had the whole country behind them before they left to take on the world in Germany.

“The anticipation around the 2010 is building rapidly and the fact that New Zealand has qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa adds to the excitement.”

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek said the match would be a fantastic warm up for South Africa.

"New Zealand are a FIFA World Cup qualified country, they play more-or-less a European style of football and there is a nice rivalry between our two teams that goes back many years,” Verbeek said.

"We are expecting a very competitive match against the All Whites and it will be a great way for us to start our pre-tournament camp.

"The match will not only be an opportunity for the fans to farewell the Qantas Socceroos, but also for us to say thank you to the fans for supporting us through the qualification campaign.”

The Qantas Socceroos will start their pre-tournament camp in Melbourne on May 19 and attend the Australian Football Awards on May 22.

The match is supported by the Victorian Government.

"Melbourne is the sporting capital of the world so there is no better place for the Socceroos- last match on home soil before they embark for a tilt at World Cup glory in South Africa," said Victorian Premier John Brumby.

"No other Australian city draws bigger crowds for Socceroos matches than Melbourne and we expect a huge number of local fans as well as those flying in from interstate and across the Tasman."

"The Kiwis are in for a big shock when they run out onto the MCG to a sea of green and gold."

The match will be shown live on FOX Sports and presented by Foxtel.

Head to Head - Australia v New Zealand
Australia: 36-wins 11-draws 10-losses